Workforce shortage hits human services sector

Friday

Mar 10, 2017 at 11:58 AMMar 10, 2017 at 12:38 PM

Already struggling to attract enough workers, the human services sector in Massachusetts will need to fill up to 25,000 positions in the coming decade to meet a growing demand for services, according to a recent Providers Council report.

Gerry Tuoti Wicked Local Newsbank Editor

Already struggling to attract enough workers, the human services sector in Massachusetts will need to fill up to 25,000 positions in the coming decade to meet a growing demand for services, according to a recent Providers Council report.

“I think it’s gotten to the point where the nature of the problem is beyond dispute,” said report co-author Michael Goodman, executive director of the Public Policy Center at UMass Dartmouth. “Now armed with this information, it’s time for our leaders to develop a plan for doing something about it.”

The Providers Council is the largest human services trade association in Massachusetts. The human services field encompasses a broad range of employees, including social workers, mental health and substance abuse counselors. The sector includes state agencies, private organizations and nonprofits that provide services to people with disabilities, senior citizens, children, homeless people, people with certain health needs and other vulnerable populations.

An aging population and the rise of opioid addiction have put strains on the human services industry in recent years, Goodman said.

“If we’re not adequately staffing these service providers, quality of care is going to suffer,” he said.

Jim Klocke, CEO of the Massachusetts Nonprofit Network, said an improving economy and competition from state agencies have made it challenging for many nonprofit service providers to fill positions.

“In some ways, it’s exacerbated by the fact that the unemployment rate is so low,” Klocke said. “The economy is strong, which is a good thing, but it also means competition for workers is as intense as it’s ever been.”

Following highly publicized incidents, such as the 2013 disappearance and murder of 5-year-old Jeremiah Oliver, the state Department of Children and Families came under scrutiny. The state devoted more resources to the DCF and other state human services agencies.

“We’ve seen the tragedy that can result when there’s understaffing in the Department of Children and Families,” Goodman said. “Cases get missed, and there have been dire consequences in some cases for their clients and the families they’re trying to support and assist.”

While the state has boosted its human services providers, that’s created unanticipated consequences for the nonprofit sector. Human services jobs in the nonprofit world are often typified by high emotional demands and low salaries, according to the report.

As a result, many nonprofits are finding it increasingly difficult to compete with the state for human services workers. The Providers Council report found that 72 percent of community-based nonprofit human services providers reported difficulties in filling job openings, and 71 percent cited the state government, which often offers higher salaries, as a source of competition for employees.

“That’s where these salary differentials become a bigger problem,” Klocke said. “There are people today who would like to work for nonprofits but are not able to because of their financial needs. There are a lot of people who work in nonprofits and do it at great sacrifice.”

The report recommended a series of recommendations, including enacting reforms to reduce the pay disparity between state and private-sector human services workers, creating a program to help community human services workers repay student loans, and supporting immigration policies that would encourage qualified immigrant workers to enter the human services field.

“We are calling the issue today a crisis,” said Providers Council research committee chairman David Jordan, who is also president and CEO of the Seven Hills Foundation in Worcester. “We are asking … we are begging to engage in a realistic dialogue with our elected officials. We’re not asking for an open checkbook, but for a dialogue on how to fix this with the resources we have available in the commonwealth.”